17. Bond Store - 1890

The bond store, a secure area for storing goods that might need to be checked or assessed on import, was built in 1890 by the South Australian Brewing Company as the company’s offices and bonded warehouse when they expanded into Broken Hill. 

The bond store supplied miners and service industries with tools, commodities and ale. The building remained in the possession of the South Australian Brewery Company until 1923 when Seppelts & Son took it over for a wine vinegar manufacture, storage and bottling store. Seppelt and Sons used the store as a warehouse until 1973. The verandah was reconstructed in 1990 as part of the Verandah Restoration Program. 

The Bond and Free Store was sold by the Seppelts in 1979. In the same year the Broken Hill Historical Society raised concerns to the Heritage Council that the building was in danger of demolition. The Society requested that the Bond Store receive protection under the Heritage Act, and an Interim Conservation Order was placed in November 1979. 

In 1981, concerned that the building was receiving no maintenance, Broken Hill City Council appealed to the Heritage Council presenting a case for its heritage significance and potential for re-use. The Heritage Council recommended that a Permanent Conservation Order be made. 

Since 1993, the building has housed the Albert Kersten Mining and Minerals Museum.

Audio transcript available.